Word Recognition Minilesson

Level: Fourth grade

Objective:

The students will learn how to use context clues in order to help them recognize the meaning of an unknown word. A few types of clues will be presented, such as: pictures, semantic/syntactic, and definitions within the text. Even though picture clues are normally used with kindergarten and first grade, we will still use them. I believe the difficult nature of a few Hewbrew terms warrants this exception.

Materials:

Class set of Yettele's Feathers by Joan Rothenburg, an overhead and transparency with example text to model, and worksheets with charts for independent practice activity.

Assumption:

Teacher and students have read the book together beforehand.

Introduction:

Today we are going to learn how to use context clues in order to recognize the meaning of a word we don't know when we come to it. Does anyone already know what context clues are? Why would we want to use context clues instead of a dictionary? Right, sometimes we don't have a dictionary handy. Plus, it takes less time to use the clues around the mystery word rather than to find the definition in the dictionary. Sometimes the definition of the word is found directly in the story or textbook. The meaning might just be a few sentences away, the sentence right before it, in the sentence itself, or the sentence immediately following it. Even pictures can be context clues.

Teacher Input and/or Modeling:

Teacher now models for the students using two examples from the book. The teacher uses a transparency with the examples on it. Let's all turn to page 7. Please follow along with me as I read. Teacher reads sample text aloud. Teacher has circled the target word, "tzimmes" on the overhead. Teacher thinks aloud her thought processes. Have I ever heard this word before? No. Does it sound like a word I already know? No. Is there a clue in the sentence itself? Well, it says that she is "cutting them into the tzimmes." I would guess that she is putting them into a bowl or something. What other clues are there? Well, if I read further I see that the definition is right there. It says, "Quick, crispy carrots hop into the pot!" That tells me that the tzimmes must mean pot. Plus, if I look at the picture on the opposite page, I see a black pot with carrots in it. I know for sure that I am right. Wow, I used all three types of context clues. Now let's all turn to page 9. Again follow along with me as I read. Teacher reads the example. Teacher circles the target word, "Gottenyu!" Hmmm, what could gottenyu mean? Well, we know that the person saying it is upset because she cried, "Gottenyu!" When I am upset, I say things like, "oh my goodness!" and others sometimes say, "my god!" Gottenyu must mean something like that too. This time we didn't have a picture or the word defined for us in the story, but the clue, "cried" and the exclamation point gave us a pretty good idea of what it could mean.

Student Guided Practice:

Now the teacher guides the students through two more examples from the meaningful text. Okay, let's try the word, "rambunctious" from page 21. Teacher calls on a student to read the selection aloud. What does this word mean? What clues did you use to figure it out? Right, it means wild and strong. We came to that conclusion because the wind "snatched the pillow right from out of her arms." Also, the next sentence mentions a "blizzard of goose feathers," and we know that blizzards have strong and wild winds. Finally, do you see a picture that might give us a clue to what rambunctious means? Look on the next page. Teacher is waiting for student feedback instead of answering her own questions right away. All right, now let's turn to page 31. Another student is called upon to read the text aloud. The target word this time is, "ruggelach." Try to use the context clues to figure out what ruggelach is. Someone tell me what they think it means. How did you decide that? What clues did you use? Is there a picture that might help? Yes, the previous page shows a cookie or something. You might have to read the next sentence to be sure that it is a cookie. Oh, it isn't a cookie. Why not? Right, the next sentence defines the word for us when it says, "gobbled down three of the delicious sweet pastries." Now we know for sure that a ruggelach must be a pastry of some kind.

Summary and Reflection:

What did we learn today? What are some types of context clues that you can look for in order to recognize the meaning of unknown words? Teacher gets students to summarize what they just learned on their own.

Independent Practice:

Students skim the book over again to find the words that they don't know the meaning of. As they find them they fill in their chart on the worksheets handed out. They write the word they chose, the page number it was found on, the meaning of hte word, and the clues that they used to get that meaning. The students repeat this a minimum of four more times. Once they have finished, they discuss what they did in groups of four or five, each person adding any new clues that helped them to the discussion.

Evaluation:

Teacher evaluates student mastery by observing the groups as they discuss their reasoning and clues chosen during the independent practice activity. Teacher also picks up the worksheets to read. This way every individual will be monitored. If the word meaning is wrong or the clues they used are irrelevant, then the teacher will go back and do some more teacher modeling.

Written by Tanya Escandell - 1998